Former O.J. juror says she was victim of jury tampering

April 1, 1996
Web posted at: 5:00 p.m. EST

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- A juror who was dismissed from the O.J.
Simpson trial says she was wrongly accused by the writer of a
fraudulent letter of pursuing a book deal during the trial,
and that she was a victim of jury tampering.

According to a CBS "60 Minutes" report that aired Sunday
night, former juror Francine Florio-Bunten may have been the
victim of carefully constructed fraud.

The "60 Minutes" investigation revealed that records of
meetings in Judge Lance Ito's chambers revealed he did not
probe the authenticity of the letter which also accused
Florio-Bunten's husband, Ed, of meeting with literary agents
at the same hotel as the sequestered jury.

Florio-Bunten had served on the jury for five months before
being dismissed late May 1995. She was taken off the jury for
reportedly lying to Judge Lance Ito about reading a note
passed to her by another juror.

But the CBS report implies that the real reason for her
dismissal was the letter sent to Ito.

"Someone wrote that letter and tried to get me off the jury,"
Florio-Bunten said.

The letter was supposedly written by a woman who claimed to
be a receptionist for a book agent who negotiated with
Florio-Bunten's husband.

Simpson case prosecuting attorney Christopher Darden and
defense attorney Johnnie Cochran both said Monday on CNN that
the letter seemed to be fraudulent.

"I knew nothing about it ... I was quite surprised along with
the other members in Judge Ito's chambers when that letter
was produced. I knew nothing about the letter... (or) the
origins of the letter," Cochran said on CNN's legal show
"Burden of Proof." (147K AIFF sound or 147K WAV sound)

Darden contradicted Cochran, saying that he and lead
Prosecutor Marcia Clark had suspected that the letter was a
fraud all along, but were ordered by Ito not to examine it. (120K AIFF sound or 120K WAV sound)

Ito's critics say the burden of the investigation fell on the
judge. Most believe he could have discerned possible fraud
if he had investigated the letter carefully.

"Judge Lance Ito had ordered both the defense and the
prosecution to refrain from investigating any issues having
to do with the jurors, and so it was Judge Ito's
responsibility to investigate that letter," Darden said.

Florio-Bunten already had been dismissed from the jury when
the controversy over the letter was raised.

Florio-Bunten, 35, said she is glad people are beginning to
believe her but disappointed that she was thrown off the jury
before she could make a difference in the trial's outcome.

She said she considered Simpson guilty when she was thrown
off the jury and would have fought to convince the
other jurors to convict.

"It probably would have been a hung jury," she said. "I don't
think I'd be able to see it any other way."

Any new revelations about the letter won't make a difference
for O.J. Simpson, who was cleared in October of the murders
of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald
Goldman.

O.J. Simpson can never be retried in a criminal court for the
crimes, but some experts think the letter controversy could
impact the wrongful-death civil lawsuit filed against him by
the families of the victims.

"Some people who end up on the civil jury may say this is my
chance to even things up ... let me find him liable," said
Milton Grimes, a criminal defense attorney.

Someone who also could be potentially affected by the letter
is Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti, who faces a
tough run for re-election, partly because of losing the
Simpson case. Proving the letter is a fraud could enhance his
chances.